Owens fined for spitting incident

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens has been fined $35,000 for spitting in the face of Atlanta cornerback D'Angelo Hall.

Owens admitted to spitting at Hall following a play in which the Falcons' cornerback pushed Owens out of bounds after Owens caught a pass during the first quarter of the Cowboys' 38-28 victory Saturday over Atlanta.

"When it happened, we were jawing in each other's face, so it wasn't anything intentional," Owens told the Dallas Morning News Monday. "I didn't intentionally spit in his face."

After the game, Hall said Owens should be suspended. He was not. No on-field officials or television cameras caught the incident. Owens could have been thrown out of the contest if game officials had seen it.

Cowboys Coach Bill Parcells wouldn't say whether he felt the fine was appropriate but said it was an indication of how seriously NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sees such actions.

"I do think you see a lot of things in sports you wish wouldn't be a part of it ... especially for an old-fashioned guy like me," Parcells told the Morning News.